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Prince William has spoken openly about how the passing of his mother affects his family life.

Prince William has confessed it's taken him almost 20 years to be able to talk about his mother Princess Diana.

The Duke of Cambridge said he misses her dearly and wishes she was around to meet his wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and their two children - Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

"I would like to have had her advice. I would love her to have met Catherine and to have seen the children grow up," he told GQ. "It makes me sad that she won’t, that they will never know her."

A true family man, Prince William said his family is so important to him and he will fight for them to be able to grow up with a normal life.

"I want George to grow up in a real, living environment, I don’t want him growing up behind palace walls, he has to be out there. The media make it harder but I will fight for them to have a normal life," the prince said.

Media scrutiny has long haunted the British royal family, particularly Princess Diana, whose death and funeral was one of the most widely televised media events in history.

With the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's death on September 6, William says he's now in a "better place" to speak about her openly.

"I am in a better place about it than I have been for a long time, where I can talk about her more openly, talk about her more honestly, and I can remember her better, and publicly talk about her better," he shared.

"It has taken me almost 20 years to get to that stage. I still find it difficult now because at the time it was so raw. And also it is not like most people’s grief, because everyone else knows about it, everyone knows the story, everyone knows her.

"It is a different situation for most people who lose someone they love, it can be hidden away or they can choose if they want to share their story."

Promoting his Heads Together campaign, Prince William hopes to end the tabboo of mental illness and encourage people to seek help.